Many, many Taming-related
questions are asked on the Tamer Forum. While some are very
individual and specific, the majority of these questions are
the same, asked by different people every day. From over two
years of participating on that Forum, I present you the most
Frequently Asked Questions and the answers on this page:
Questions about the Taming Skill:
What’s the best way to GM Taming?
How long does it take to GM Taming?
What do I tame at 50, 60, 70, 80, 90...? And
where should I go?
Is it true I can gain skill off previously tamed
animals?
What skill do I need to tame a certain creature?
Will I have better results raising Taming with
low Animal Lore?
Is there a significant bonus for GM Taming?
Should I tame in Trammel or Felucca?
How do I tame an aggressive animal?
Why is this creature too angry to continue
taming?
What taming techniques are considered illegal?
B. Questions about the Animal Lore Skill
What’s the best way to GM Animal
Lore?
Do I really need Animal Lore? And what does
it do?
If I GM my Animal Lore and Taming, which title
will I have?
What’s the difference between 80 Lore and
100.0?
Is there a significant bonus for GM lore or
can I lock it at 99.9?
C. Questions about the Veterinary Skill
What’s the best way to GM Veterinary?
Is it more effective to heal high level pets
like dragons to gain skill?
Do I have to keep my Animal Lore low in order
to get good Vet gains?
Do I have to change pets when vetting them or
can I train on the same 2 for a day?
How much damage is healed with Vet compared
to Magery?
Is Veterinary a required skill? Can I get by
without it?
Can pets be healed with Healing/Anatomy?
Is there a significant bonus for GM Veterinary?
D. Questions about Character Templates
Which NPC teaches Taming, Animal
Lore or Veterinary, and what do I have to say to them?
What skills are best for a Tamer?
Is Wrestling a useful skill for a Mage-Tamer?
Is Resist needed for a Tamer?
What is the best Tamer Template?
What is a better skill for a Tamer, Healing
or Veterinary?
E. Questions about Pets
How much skill is needed to just
ride a nightmare, unicorn or ki-rin?
How much skill is needed to control a
nightmare, unicorn, ki-rin,dragon, white wyrm, drake?
When should I start hunting with a high level
pet?
Where can I find nightmares, unicorns and ki-rins?
Where can I find forest and frenzied ostards,
ridable llamas and ridgebacks?
My bought pet just went wild on me, what do
I do now?
How do I get my pet into wind?
My newly tamed pet won't obey any commands
- what am I doing wrong?
What is a silver steed/dark steed and where
do they spawn?
What do different animals eat?
My pet is stuck in a location, how do I get
it out of there?
Why does my pet sometimes highlight green to
me?
What difference makes being guilded or unguilded
for hunting with pets?
Can I make pets attack each other in Trammel?
What are "legacy pets"?
When I lore my pet, what message should I feed
at? And how much do I feed?
Will a pet's loyalty increase over time/with
training?
How do I get my pets onto a boat?
Why did my pet attack me/my other pet?
How do I stop pets from fighting (each other)?
How many pets can I stable? What are stable
limits?
A. Questions about the Taming Skill:
What's the best way to GM Taming?
There is no “best” way to GM Taming. There aren’t
even any different methods, it’s all just about taming
as many creatures of the correct skill requirement as you can.
Click
for more information.
How long does it take to GM Taming?
There is no cut-and-dry answer to this question. It depends
on how much time you invest in practicing the skill.
What do I tame at 50, 60, 70, 80, 90...?
And where should I go?
Detailed information is available in the chapter What to tame at which skill
level and in the essay on taming
areas.
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Is it true I can gain skill off previously
tamed animals?
Yes, but only if somebody else tamed them before you. With each
new owner, the minimum skill required to tame an animal increases.
Click
for more information.
What skill do I need to tame a certain creature?
Have a look at the tables on minimum
taming requirements.
Will I have better results raising Taming
with low Animal Lore?
No, Animal Lore has absolutely nothing to do with the taming
process itself. Animal Lore affects your control ability and
the Veterinary skill only. Click
for more information.
Is there a significant bonus for GM Taming?
You have the highest chance possible to tame any tamable creature
as well as the highest level of control ability without obtaining
a scroll of power, and you will be granted one additional stable
slot.
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Should I tame in Trammel or Felucca?
This depends on your personal play style and preferences. If
you feel comfortable in Felucca, you can train your skills just
as well there as in Trammel. Only if you are relying on pretamed
creatures for skill gain, you might prefer training in Trammel
exclusively, since the player population is significantly higher
there. (But then so is the competition for tamable creatures.)
How do I tame an aggressive animal?
The creature you want to tame may not take any damage during
the time you are attempting to tame it. As soon as it takes
damage, the taming process will be disrupted. Make sure you
stay out of melee range and don't auto-defend. Tab out of combat
mode, so that the creature does not highlight as an attacker.
Magic reflect is also a bad idea while taming spell-casting
creatures.
Click
for more information.
Why is this creature too angry to continue
taming?
The creature received damage of some sort and your taming attempt
was disrupted.
Click
for more information.
What taming techniques are considered illegal?
Generally any attempt to block an aggressive creature with inanimate
objects or invisible players/pets is illegal. For more detailed
information you should refer to OSI’s own in-game support
sources on their official website.
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B. Questions about the Animal Lore Skill
What's the best way to GM Animal Lore?
The best (and easiest) way of GMing Animal Lore is by passive
gain from healing a pet through Veterinary.
B.2. Do I really need Animal Lore? And what
does it do?
The primary purpose of this skill is to give you information
about what a creature likes to eat, and its current happiness
level. Your skill level in Animal Lore also accounts for approximately
20% of your ability to control a pet.
Click
for more information.
If I GM my Animal Lore and Taming, which
title will I have?
Your title will be “Grandmaster Ranger” unless you
also achieve GM status in a skill that ranks higher than Animal
Lore in the skill list - for example Alchemy or Anatomy.
What's the difference between 80 Lore and
100.0?
- At GM Veterinary: an average of 4 hitpoints healed per
bandage at GM Veterinary.
- At GM Taming: an increase of control percentage:
for dragons from 82.6% to 99% (maximum),
for unicorns, ki-rins or nightmares: from 75.4% to 99% (maximum)
for white wyrms: from 65.8% to 92.2% (for the maximum of
99% you need a minimum of 106.0).
- You are granted one additional stable slot at 100.0, 110.0
and 120.0 Animal Lore.
B.5. Is there a significant bonus for GM
lore or can I lock it at 99.9?
Yes, once you reach 100.0 in Animal Lore, you will be able to
see exact numerical data of a tamable creature's stats and skills
even when it is wild.
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C. Questions about the Veterinary Skill
What's the best way to GM Veterinary?
Applying as many bandages as you can. Veterinary skill gain
is not difficulty based, so healing larger amounts of damage
will not speed up your gains.
Is it more effective to heal high level
pets like dragons to gain skill?
No. Since Veterinary skill gain is not difficulty based, it
does not make a difference if you practice it on high level
pets or not.
Do I have to keep my Animal Lore low in
order to get good Vet gains?
No, your level of Animal Lore does not matter for gaining Veterinary.
Do I have to change pets when vetting them
or can I train on the same 2 for a day?
Veterinary is not a target based skill, so if you like you can
train on the same creatures until you reach GM.
How much damage is healed with Vet compared
to Magery?
The maximum amount of damage healed with a Greater Heal spell
is 50 points at GM Magery. A Tamer with GM Veterinary and GM
Animal Lore has a range of 43-80 points , with an average of
62 points per bandage.
Is Veterinary a required skill? Can I get
by without it?
Veterinary is not a required skill for a tamer template, but
it is a lot more efficient than just keeping your pets alive
with magery. Here are some numbers for comparison:
At GM Magery and GM Meditation (with 100 INT), you can cast
11 Greater Heal spells (takes about 30 seconds) before your
mana is depleted. This amounts to an absolute maximum of 550
hitpoints before you have to meditate (takes about 60 seconds
to fully regenerate with active meditation). At GM Veterinary
and GM Animal Lore, the maximum amount healed per bandage 80.
If you have 25 DEX, you can apply one bandage every 5 seconds.
This amounts to an absolute maximum of 1440 hitpoints in the
same time it takes the Mage to expend and replete his mana.
While the Mage can not perform any other actions while actively
meditating, the Veterinarian can cast spells and use other skills
while applying bandages. This allows for a completely different
playstyle.
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Can pets be healed with Healing/Anatomy?
No, all tamable creatures require the Veterinary skill.
Is there a significant bonus for GM Veterinary?
Yes. Once you are a GM Veterinarian, you will never fail to
apply a bandage. You are also granted one additional stable
slot at 100.0, 110.0 and 120.0 Veterinary.
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D. Questions about Character Templates
Which NPC teaches Taming, Animal Lore or
Veterinary, and what do I have to say to them?
To get the NPC to train you, say “[Name] teach (or train)
[skill name]”. Use the phrases “Taming”, “Lore”,
“Veterinary” or “Vet”. The NPCs will not
respond to “teach Animal Lore” or “teach Animal
Taming”! The simplest way is to use the context menu (shift
+ click if it is not turned on as per default).
- Animal Trainers (Stable NPCs) teach Taming, Animal Lore
and Veterinary
- Ranchers teach Taming, Animal Lore, Veterinary and Herding
- Rangers teach Animal Lore
- The Vet at the Britain Animal Hospital teaches Animal
Lore and Veterinary
What skills are best for a Tamer?
This depends completely on your play style.
Click
for more information.
Is Wrestling a useful skill for a Mage-Tamer?
Yes it is, high Wrestling skill decreases your chance of getting
hit and thus reduces interruption of spells. How much you will
benefit from it depends on your play style and which facet you
play on. The nonexistent pushthrough code in Trammel makes this
skill expendable, while it can be difficult to survive without
it in Felucca.
Is Resist needed for a Tamer?
Whether you need Resist or not also depends mostly on your play
style. It is especially important for PvP but as a pure PvM
character you can do just as well without it.
What is the best Tamer Template?
There is no such thing as a “best” template for a
Tamer. Again, choice of skills depends only on your play style
and what you want to accomplish. For PvP, the traditional Mage
template with Animal Taming and Animal Lore is the best choice.
For solo hunting in high spawn areas, the Bard/Tamer is a great
template. A cartographer might pick up Taming and Lore for backup
on treasure hunts.
Click
for more information.
What is a better skill for a Tamer, Healing
or Veterinary?
To heal tamable creatures, you need Veterinary. Healing does
not work on them.
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E. Questions about Pets
How much skill is needed to just ride
a nightmare, unicorn or ki-rin?
Without going into too much detail, the bare minimum to have
one of these pets transferred to you is about 88 Animal Taming
and GM Animal Lore. At this level you will only have a 20% chance
of succeeding a command.
Click
for more information.
How much skill is needed to control a
nightmare, unicorn, ki-rin,dragon, white wyrm?
For a 70% control ability you will need at least the equivalent
of the minimum taming requirement adjusted skill points in Taming
and Lore. The higher your Taming and Animal Lore skill the higher
your control ability.
Click
for more information.
When should I start hunting with a high
level pet?
Out of courtesy towards your fellow players, you should not
take your pets to popular hunting grounds before you have reliable
control over them. Take them to remote areas to get a feeling
for how well you will be able to command them in different situations.
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Where can I find nightmares, unicorns and
ki-rins?
Nightmares spawn in the basement of the Terathan Keep in Trammel
and Felucca, in Covetous Level 2 and Wind Park in Felucca, and
in the Elemental room of the Ki-Rin Passage in Ilshenar. Unicorns
spawn in the forest just north of the Spirituality moongate
in Ilshenar. Kiririns spawn in the Ki-Rin passage in Ilshenar.
Look for the light floor tiles in the shape of a horse on your
radar map.
Where can I find forest and frenzied ostards,
ridable llamas and ridgebacks?
Both varieties of ostards as well as ridable llamas spawn in
many locations in T2A. The best places to find them are Damwin
Thicket, the area around the Cemetery Passage and the southeastern
area of the Lost Lands.
E.8. My bought pet just went wild on me,
what do I do now?
Retame it. Pets remember all their former owners, and they can
all retame a pet with a 100% chance of success.
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How do I get my pet into wind?
There’s a little trick you need to know, because pets won’t
just follow you through the teleporter. Tell your pet to stay
in front of it and walk around it to the other side. Now tell
your pet to follow you. If it has the magery level required
to enter (72.0 adjusted skill), it will enter as soon as it
steps on the teleporter and you can follow.
My newly tamed pet won't obey any commands
- what am I doing wrong?
Use animal Lore to determine it's Loyalty Level. You might have
to feed it.
Click
for more information.
What is a silver steed/dark steed and where
can I find them?
Silver and dark steeds are part of the Evil/Hero system. They
were never supposed to spawn as tamable creatures, but to be
summoned for a limited period of time through special spells
using up life force points. Part of the unfinished code slipped
out to production shards, and for a very short time silver and
dark steeds spawned in the same overland locations where nightmares
used to spawn. While OSI considers silver and dark steeds illegal
pets, no action was taken against players who own a dark steed,
since their appearance and powers are almost identical to those
of a nightmare. For some time silver steeds were deleted by
special code patched to the Stablemaster NPCs, and of course
on sight by Game Masters. After some time the stabling code
was changed, and GMs will not delete them anymore but rehue
them to nightmare color.
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What do different animals eat?
To determine this, you can use your Animal Lore skill.
Click
for more information.
My pet is stuck in a location, how do I
get it out of there?
For spellcasting creatures you can use the “come”
command and the pet will teleport to your location. For nonmagical
pets, or if the “come” command doesn’t work right
away, cast a gate (to any location), tell your pet to follow
you and step into the gate and then out of it again right away.
Your pet will appear right next to you. (This also works if
your pet gets trapped inside someone’s house.) Bonded pets
will recall with you.
Why does my pet sometimes highlight green
to me?
Your pet appears green to you only when you are a member of
a player guild and you triggered the controller flag by using
the “kill” or “guard” command. This controller
flag has advantages and disadvantages for you:
- If the controller flag is set and your pet goes wild,
you will be responsible
for its actions until the controller flag wears off. Sometimes
this can be quite a long time.
Never transfer a “green” pet to someone else -
if that person has malicious intents,
they can release the pet and not only get you guard whacked
if it attacks someone,
you will also be able to get a murder count that way.
- If the controller flag is set, you will get fame and looting
rights for kills your pet makes,
but you will also gain or lose karma depending on the type
of creature you kill.
What difference makes being guilded or
unguilded for hunting with pets?
If you are in Trammel and unguilded, you will not take damage
in case your own pet attacks you for some reason. If you are
guilded, no matter if in Trammel or Felucca, you will take damage
from your own pets.
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Can I make pets attack each other in Trammel?
Yes you can. Just set the controller flag for your pets (for
example by telling them to guard you) and you will be able to
command them to attack each other. The only disadvantage to
not being guilded is that you can’t tell whether the controller
flag is set on your pet(s) because they will not appear green
to you.
What are "legacy pets"?
Legacy pets are pets that don’t spawn anymore in their
original form. With the introduction of the 3D client, the code
for nightmares and white wyrms was changed. They used to spawn
based on the 4 horse graphics (nightmares) and the 2 dragon
graphics (white wyrms) and the game would just apply the code
for their altered stats, skills and other abilities to that
graphic. “Legacy” pets still displayed as the type
of creature they originated from in the 3D client. When such
a pet died, the corpse would say “a horse corpse”
or “a dragon corpse”. With UO:R those creatures became
separate species with their own code (displayed correctly in
both the 2D and 3D client), and the variety vanished: nightmares
only spawn as the shortmaned type we currently know, and white
wyrms only spawned as the darker, “dirty”-grey type
based on the brown dragon graphic.
When I lore my pet, what message should
I feed at? And how much do I feed?
How often you need to feed your pet depends on your skill levels
in Animal Lore and Taming. The more difficult it is for you
to control a certain pet, the more commands you will fail, thus
lowering your pet's loyalty. The lower your pet's loyalty, the
harder it is to command and the more commands you will fail.
Generally it's a good idea to feed a pet that is following you
at any level below "happy" and to check a pet you
are riding for it's loyalty status every half hour. One piece
of food is usually enough, but at low skill levels of Taming
it might take two pieces to get a freshly tamed pet to "wonderfully
happy". If your pet is fatigued because its stamina is
depleted, you can feed it three pieces of food, one at a time,
to restore 90% of its stamina immediately.
Will a pet's loyalty increase over time/with
training?
No. A pet’s loyalty and orneriness is not influenced by
its stats and skills, so they will not improve over time or
with training.
Click
for more information.
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How do I get my pets onto a boat?
There are two ways to accomplish this, only one if you have
no Magery. Neither pets nor NPC's will follow you onto your
boat unless the gangplank and shore are perfectly aligned in
height and the plank must touch the shore. They do not step
over open water. Go aboard your boat and open the plank and
tell the pet to follow you. The easiest way is to use docks.
Unfortunately docks are often crowded which can be a problem
with dragons. If you have the skill to gate, mark a rune on
the shore and tell your pet to "stay". Then go aboard
your boat and gate on the newly marked rune. Walk out the Gate,
tell the beast to "follow" and step right back through.
Getting a pet off the boat is simple, they don't seem to mind
jumping onto the shore. If you have multiple pets, you might
have to return to the boat for each one and walk off again.
Bonded pets will recall with you.
Why did my pet attack me/my other pet?
This can happen for two reasons:
- You either misclicked, targeting the wrong creature after
a kill command or you doubleclicked your pet while in combat
mode.
- You tamed a fire breathing creature and performed an action
that causes the game screen to refresh (spellcasting, mounting/dismounting,
resurrecting someone, logging back in after a disconnect)
before you removed the pet from the server it spawned on.
E.23. How do I stop pets from fighting
(each other)?
Command your pet to "stop".
How many pets can I stable? What are stable
limits?
The number of pets a character can place on a stable master
is based upon an average of 3 skills: Taming, Veterinary, and
Animal Lore. If the total (adjusted value) of these 3 skills
(Taming plus Veterinary plus Animal Lore) is
- - below 160, two pets may be stabled
- between 160 and 199.9, three pets may be stabled
- between 200 and 239.9, four pets may be stabled
- at or above 240, five pets may be stabled
- Additional stable slots are granted once you reach 100.0,
110.0 and 120.0 in each of those 3 skills.
Click
for more information.
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